Gerry Adams slams his ‘malicious and sinister’ arrest

GERRY Adams hit out at the "old guard" within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) when he was released after being questioned for four days about a notorious IRA murder in 1972.

But he also offered his support to the PSNI as a force, and repeatedly emphasised that his arrest should not undermine the peace process at a press briefing.

"Those who authorised my arrest could have done it differently," he said.

"They didn't have to use pernicious coercive legislation to deal with a legacy issue, even one as serious as this which I was voluntarily prepared to deal with. They didn't have to do it in the middle of an election campaign."

He said the arrest was a result of the "old guard using the old methods". Prosecutors will now decide whether the Sinn Fein president is to face charges.